Open Nothing But Stars in Our Eyes

[Harper Alston]

((Open after Marijke posts with Chloë Thompson))

Aside from watching games, Harper didn't spend much time at the Quidditch pitch. She much preferred flying across the lake, over the castle, above the cliffs — really anywhere that might have interesting scenery. Plus there was almost always someone practicing at the pitch, and she didn't want to accidentally get hit by a bludger. But today, she was hoping to work on her speed, and the pitch was the best place for that. There were fewer obstacles, no trees or castle turrets to dodge. And after spending so much time away from the pitch, maybe she was a little curious about the place where her friends did the majority of their flying.

There had been a game fairly recently, so Harper hoped that meant most of the teams were taking a break. Indeed, the pitch was empty when she arrived, and she took off into the air, enjoying the peace and quiet. It was rare to find the pitch like this. She did a couple laps around the field, which made her oddly nostalgic as she remembered all the races she and Lillith had done in flying class, before heading for one of the hoops. Harper dismounted her broom and stood inside the tallest Quidditch hoop, surveying the field and grounds beyond. Was this what Nikko saw every game? She wondered if he and the other Quidditch players ever had time to admire the view while playing the game.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë had always enjoyed flying, fondly recalling moving around on her first toy broom when she was little and often almost knocking over her brother as she did. It was a love that had been present for most of her life so far and with that one that had grown ever stronger since she had tried out for the quidditch team a few years back. Needless to say, the pitch was one of her favourite spots around the school and one she spend a big deal of her time at. Whether she was attending team practice, doing solo practice or simply flying laps to clear her head and get her thoughts in order she could be found at the pitch a lot.

Today was no different. Over the last couple of years she had always been dedicated to quidditch, determined to do well and show off her skills, and now that the team had won their first game against ravenclaw it had given her motivation a boost. After last years losses winning their first game had been a breath of fresh air and she was keen to get right back onto her broom after. Chloë had hopped onto her broom after walking onto the pitch, pushing herself off into the air. She had flown about half a lap when she noticed a figure at the hoops on the other side of the pitch. Curious as to why a kid was standing inside one of the hoops she flew over, grinning when she noticed who it was. "I don't think that's what they're meant for." She said with a small chuckle when she reached the hoops, hoovering in place as she looked at the younger girl with a grin. "I mean I could be wrong though, after all what do I know?"

 

[Harper Alston]

The pitch wasn't empty for very long. In the distance, a figure approached the field before taking off. Though it would have been nice to have the place to herself, Harper wasn't upset. Judging by the figure's bright red hair, she had a pretty good idea who had arrived, and she grinned when the other girl joined her at the hoops. Harper laughed lightly at Chloë's comment. "Haven't you heard?" she asked, "This is the latest goalkeeping technique." Keeping one hand on the hoop, she used the other to wave her broom back and forth, pretending to knock away incoming quaffles. "All the pros are doing it, you'd better tell Nikko and Ronald."

Harper quickly mounted her broom and hovered in place inside the hoop. Though she was very confident in her balancing skills, she knew she probably shouldn't tempt fate while a dozen meters in the air without a safety net. She'd be much safer on her broom. "The rest of the team's not about to show up, are they?" she asked, peering down. The pitch, along with the surrounding grounds, appeared to be empty, but maybe Chloë was just early to a practice. "I can leave if you guys are here for practice," she offered with a friendly smile. Leaving would infringe on her plans, but she knew the teams got first priority for the pitch.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë laughed at Harper's response, even more so when she acted out the so mentioned newest goalkeeping technique. It was surely inventive but she didn't think keepers would get very far with it. "Right, silly me. I'll make sure to tell them." She chuckled as she moved to fly in a little circle around the hoops just so she could keep moving for a bit. Mostly because she'd rather already be moving if Harper somehow happened to lose her balance. Just in case. "I mean as a chaser I'm all for it, leaves the other two hoops unguarded." She jokingly responded, flying back through one of the two empty hoops before coming to a stop in front of Harper again.

She watched as the younger girl mounted her broom, quite keen that she did. She hadn't wanted to ruin the fun but at least now she didn't have to worry about the slight possibility that Harper might've lost her footing when standing inside the ring. "Nah, no practice or anything. Just me." Chloë smiled when Harper asked if the rest of the team was coming. If any of them did somehow manage to show up it would just be sheer coincidence. "So whatcha doing out here? Just taking in the view?" She asked curiously. The pitch was an open area for pretty much all students except first years but whenever she saw anyone fly around on their own it piqued her interest. Especially since there were so many reasons anyone could be at the pitch on their own. They could be flying to clear their mind or get their emotions in order, they could be waiting on their friends or they could've just felt the need to fly. In any case, it was very much in her nature to be curious about things like that.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper tried to keep track of Chloë as the older girl flew around the hoops, but that proved to be a bit tricky since she didn't want to move around too much while she was still standing in the hoop. She laughed when Chloë pointed out the obvious flaws to her proposed goalkeeping strategy. "Well I didn't say it was a perfect plan. There are a couple holes in it," she said with a grin, taking perhaps too much delight in the pun.

She was relieved to hear that there wasn't a practice scheduled anytime soon. Between the flying classes and the four Quidditch teams, it was near impossible to find an opening at the pitch. Harper ascended a bit, her gaze sweeping over the field and surrounding grounds. "The view's not bad—" It was a bit boring compared to the cliffs, but she kept that observation to herself, "—but I was actually planning on working on my flying skills." He gaze returned to Chloë. "I want to be faster, but I keep getting speed wobbles, and I can't figure out what's wrong." It was either her technique or the crappy school brooms. Or both. Even now, she was fighting against her broom, which seemed to want to drift to the left instead of hovering in place. "I figured the pitch was the best place to do some sprints and focus on my technique."

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë laughed when Harper agreed that perhaps her plan wasn't perfect, that it had a few holes in it. "Well, yeah, two to be precise." She joked, nodding towards the two unguarded hoops next to her. The younger girl being slightly relieved the rest of the team wasn't joining for training didn't go unnoticed, but Chloë could quite understand the feeling of wanting to fly around the pitch without having to leave because one of the teams had planned an official practice. She nodded approvingly when Harper mentioned she had come to the pitch to work on her flying skills which sounded oddly familiar. She likely wouldn't even be able to recall all of the times she herself had headed to the pitch to try and become better, faster or more balanced on her broom. "Definitely no better place around to practice getting faster." Chloë smiled as her mind started to go over what Harper had said about going wobbly. "Maybe I could try and help? If you want.." She offered eventually. "I mean I don't think I'm an expert or anything but I do spend a lot of time on a broom so, I don't know, maybe I could give you some pointers or something."

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper brightened when Chloë offered to help, though she had to disagree with the older girl's characterization of her skills. "If you're not an expert at flying at this school, then who is?" Years of attending Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch matches meant Harper had a pretty good sense of who the better players at the school were, and it was fairly obvious that Chloë was one of the them. She couldn't think of a better person to get flying tips from. Or just advice in general. Chloë had proven to be a very helpful source of guidance, especially when it came to the magical world. "If you could give me pointers, that'd be great! But only if you're not busy," she added hurriedly. Even if there wasn't an official Gryffindor practice scheduled, Harper assumed Chloë had come to the pitch today for a reason that did not involve giving other students flying tips, and she didn't want to interfere with the older girl's plans.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë wasn't sure what Harper would think of her offer and definitely didn't want to come off like a know-it-all, so she was glad the girl responded the way she did. "I guess that's a fair point." She chuckled softly. Spending so much of her time on a broom out on the pitch she was confident in her own flying abilities but judging those of others was something entirely different. Hopefully she would be able to help Harper figure out why she got wobbly with increased speed. "Yeah, sure!" Chloë beamed when the girl seemed more than happy to let her see if she could help before shaking her head at what she followed up with. "Nah, no worries. I was just keen to get back on my broom. Plus, I'm always happy to help out." She added, although she reckoned Harper knew that by now. After all, she enjoyed helping others out. That and she never seemed to shy away from an opportunity to offer some advice. Especially to younger students, since she was so used to doing the same for her cousins.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper was glad Chloë didn't try to object to her point about the older Gryffindor's skills. She had never been a fan of false modesty or excessive insecurity. As far as Harper was concerned, if you were good at something, you deserved to own it. Besides, in her experience, it was usually girls (and not boys) who were told they shouldn't be openly proud of their abilities.

Harper grinned when Chloë confirmed she was available to help out. "Okay, awesome!" she said, already drifting away from the hoops. "Maybe we could do a couple of fast laps together, and I'll let you know when the wobbling starts? It'll probably be pretty obvious anyways..." she said with a shrug. "And then you can tell me what I'm doing wrong?" Maybe it would be easier for Chloë just to watch her fly, but Harper assumed that would be boring for the other girl. And she figured Chloë was more than capable of flying and tracking another person at the same time.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë nodded at Harper's suggestion of doing a few laps so she could try and keep an eye on when she started to get wobbly and what might be the cause of it. She hadn't really ever given a lot of flying tips to anyone other than her own younger cousins and had to admit that she did feel a little pressure to get it right. Most of all because she just wanted to be able to help Harper out. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." She agreed, more than happy to be flying along instead of just watching from a distance. At least that way she could get some extra flying time in herself, which was why she had come to the pitch in the first place. "You just fly and accelerate whenever you feel like it and I'll keep up, keep an eye on what you're doing." Chloë smiled, hoping she would be able to pinpoint what it was that might cause Harper's wobbliness.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper grinned, happy that Chloë found the plan suitable. "Okay, let's go!" She took off without a backwards glance, assuming that the older girl would be able to catch up easily. For a few seconds, she just focused on accelerating, eventually hitting a speed that was both comfortable and thrilling. Then she leaned forward, urging the broom to its limits. The handle began to shake, and it seemed her attempts to control it only made the problem worse. "Chloë!" she called out, glancing around to see if she could spot the other Gryffindor. Eventually Harper was forced to slow down a bit to avoid getting thrown off the broom. She kept this pace for another half-lap, just enjoying the feeling of flying, before slowing further so that she could talk to Chloë. "Did you see that?"

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë chuckled when Harper took off, happy to see the girl's enthusiasm. She waited couple of seconds before flying after her but wanted to fly behind her a little first, trying to see if there was anything she could notice from there that might not be going the way it should be. She got a little closer when Harper started accelerating and didn't waste much time shooting forward when the wobbling started and she called out her name, not too keen on having her fall of her broom when she was right there. "I did." Chloë nodded with a small smile when she caught up with Harper. "I mean it's hard to say because flying is a lot about your own feeling, but I think you might be trying to control too much? Like when you lose your balance when standing on one leg and flail your arms around to try and compensate. Which just makes things worse because you're starting to focus on the wrong thing. If that makes sense..?"

 

[Harper Alston]

It was a good thing Chloë had seen the wobbling since Harper wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. The longer her broom shook, the more it felt like she was just seconds away from being thrown from her broom. Harper listened carefully as Chloë tried to explain what was happening. "That makes sense," she said, nodding thoughtfully. "I guess it's kind of like skateboarding that way...?" She didn't know whether the older Gryffindor had ever tried to skateboard before, but speed wobbles were a common issue in that sport, and the advice was pretty much the same: just relax. Unfortunately, Harper had never really overcome that problem, instead deciding to take up different sports and leave the skateboarding to her brothers. But maybe with Chloë's guidance, she could solve that issue when it came to flying. "How do you stay so relaxed while flying? Whenever my broom starts to shake, I can't help but think about how high up I am, which I guess is why I try to overcorrect." A lot of things about the magical world, flying included, were starting to come naturally to Harper. But if she thought about it too hard, she could still psyche herself out over just how strange magic could be.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë was glad Harper seemed to think her explanation of what might be going wrong made sense. Flying was a lot about feeling and she had never tried focussed so much on someone else's form so trying to put into words what she noticed was more difficult than she had thought it would be. "Yeah, somewhat like that." She nodded when Harper mentioned skateboarding. It wasn't like she had done much skateboarding in her lifetime except for the few times she had given it a go on Ajax' board, but both skating and flying relied heavily on balance so there were definitely similarities. "Honestly? I don't mind the height, I love being up in the air so I don't really worry about that." Chloë answered with a small shrug, not feeling like that information was particularly helpful for the younger girl. "I think it's a lot about trust as well. Trusting your broom. Trusting your own skills. Having fun. If you worry too much you start becoming insecure in what you're doing and that's only ever going to work against you." She added with an encouraging smile.

 

[Harper Alston]

Chloë's confirmation that it was a bit like skateboarding helped a lot in making Harper understand what she needed to do. Sometimes the magical world felt so strange it verged on daunting. Drawing parallels between it and the muggle world was one way to make everything more comprehensible. She considered Chloë's advice. "I like the height too, and I think I trust myself..." Harper knew she was a decent flyer; she wouldn't have pulled some of the daring — and frankly, dangerous — stunts she had in the past if she didn't think she could get herself out of any trouble. "...but I guess it's harder to trust the broom when I don't really understand how it works?" Trying to find a logical explanation for magic was a futile effort, she knew, and that's why she generally tried not to think too much about it. But it seemed that something about being mere moments from disaster forced her subconscious to overthink things. "Probably doesn't help that these school brooms are ancient," she joked. Harper remained silent for a few moments, starting a slow lap around the pitch. "Now that I think about it, I've never really had this issue when I'm racing my friends. Just when I'm flying by myself." Which she supposed lent credence to Chloë's theory. In the former scenario, she was more focused on beating her friends, leaving no room to overthink things.